1997-18, The Temple of Heaven《天坛》

Stamp Title： The Temple of Heaven
Serial number: 1997-18
Values in set: 4
(4-1), Hall of Prayer for Bumper Harvests, 50 fen, 50*30mm
(4-2), Imperial Vault of Heaven, 50 fen, 50*30mm
(4-3), Circular Mound Altar, 150 fen, 50*30mm
(4-4), Fasting Palace, 150 fen, 50*30mm
Date of issue: October 16,1997
Designers: Ma Gang; Wang Huming
Size: 50*30mm
Perforation: 12
Sheet composition: 16
Printing process: offset

The Temple of Heaven, located in the southeastern part of Beijing and built during the reign of Emperor Yongle of Ming Dynasty, is the largest temple-altar structure still kept intact. The Temple of Heaven, also called the Temple of Heaven and Earth, was renamed the Temple of Heaven in 1533, and was the place where emperors of Ming and Qing dynasties worshipped and offered sacrifice to the heaven, and prayed for bumper harvest. Different from the golden tiles and red walls of the Forbidden City, blue is the dominant colour of the Temple of Heaven, symbolizing that all halls and temples were integrated with the sky.

The Temple of Heaven has two tiers of walls, forming the inner temple and the outer temple. The walls of the temple take a square shape in the southern sections and a circular shape in the northern sections, symbolizing, that the heaven is round and the earth is square. Its main buildings include two groups, with the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest, the Gate of Prayer for Good Harvest and the Hall of Imperial Delight as one group, and the Imperial Vault of Heaven and the Altar of Heaven forming the other. The Red Stairway Bridge links up the two. The well-known Echo Wall is the brick-built wall surrounding the Imperial Vault of Heaven and the Three Echo Stone is located right inside the Imperial Vault of Heaven. When one stands at the centre of the Altar of Heaven and speaks to whatever direction, loud and clear echoes can be heard, this interesting phenomenon is regarded as a miracle of the Temple of Heaven. The entire Structure of the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest is built of wood, gold-gilt and colourfully painted, its design is complicated, elegant and scientific, the structure has a rich cultural connotation and has reached an impeccable level in its design and construction.

1997-18 《天坛》特种邮票
（4-1）T 祈年殿 50 分 3429.35万枚
（4-2）T 皇穹宇 50 分 3429.35万枚
（4-3）T 圜丘 150 分 2648.55万枚
（4-4）T 斋宫 150 分 2648.55万枚
志号名称：1997-18T
发行日期：1997年10月16日
版别：胶印
整版枚数：16枚
齿孔度数：12度
邮票规格：50 × 30毫米
设计者：马刚、王虎鸣
印制机构：北京邮票厂

天坛，是世界上最大的祭天建筑群。位于北京崇文区天桥南大街和永定门大街东侧，是“圜丘”、“祈谷”二坛的总称，为明、清两代皇帝祈天、祈祷丰年和祈雨的场所。每年冬至、正月上辛日和孟夏(夏季的首月)，皇帝要到天坛来举行祭天、祈谷和祈雨仪式。

天坛是我国现存最大的坛庙建筑群，始建于永乐十八年(1420年)，初名天地坛。明嘉靖九年(公元1530年)，在天地坛大祀殿南建圜丘以祭天，在京城北建方泽以祭地，同时建日坛及月坛。圜丘竣工后，嘉靖十三年(公元1534年)皇帝下旨：“圜丘、方泽今后称天坛、地坛。”明确了分祀天地之制。天坛有坛墙两重，分内坛墙和外坛墙，俯视整个坛墙形状为“北圆南方”。外坛墙周长为6553米，南北墙距1657米，东西墙距1703米，墙内总面积约273万平方米。外坛墙的东南北三面原无门，只有西边有门两座：北部叫“祈谷坛门”;南部称为“圜丘坛门”。解放后增修了东门和北门，现在的南门是拆除外坛南墙后，暴露出来的内坛南门“昭亨门”。内坛墙周长为4152米，南北墙距1283米，东西墙距1025米，墙高3.53米，内坛总面积约130万平方米。内坛中间有一道东西向的隔墙，与内坛东西墙相连接，将圜丘、祈谷两坛分成两部分。圜丘坛部分，东南西三面开有泰元、昭亨、广利三门，北门叫成贞门，开在北面隔墙凸出部位的正中。此外，成贞门以西的隔墙上，还有三间方形大门以沟通两坛。在祈谷坛部分，东西北三面内坛墙上，亦各辟一门，俗称东天门、西天门和北天门。主要建筑有祈年殿、圜丘坛、皇穹宇和斋宫等。

天坛建筑摆脱了历来以中轴线对称的布局设计，内坛并不在外坛的南北正中线上，祈年殿和圜丘坛的中心联线和东西内坛墙的距离也不相等，即不在内坛的南北正中线上，内坛位于外坛内偏东，内坛中轴线又在内坛偏东。这样的布局使轴线和外坛西墙的距离能延长近200米。对于原来只有西门出入的天坛来说，能够使人进入时顿感视野开阔，建筑宏伟。连接南北两坛的轴线是一座长360米、宽28米、高2.5米的砖石台，这座台基称为“神道”，又称“海墁大道”，也叫“丹陛桥”，它表示上天庭要经过遥远漫长的路程。在丹陛桥和东西天门相对的位置上，有一条曲尺形、拱券顶的隧道穿过台基，这是祭祀用的牲畜从牺牲所赶往宰牲亭的通道，名走牲路。

天坛建筑群有别于我国乃至世界上任何一处王家宫殿园林，它有着中华民族极其深厚的历史文化内涵。近600年来，天坛在我国历代皇帝和亿万人民心目中，是净化心灵、祈祷太平、醒悟朝拜、祷告国泰民安与上苍对话的神圣殿堂。新中国成立后，经过几次修葺和绿化，如今已焕然一新，成为北京著名的游览胜地。

1997年10月16日，为了展示中华民族悠久的文化遗产，邮电部发行了《天坛》特种邮票，全套4枚